Competition restructures confirmed

The Rugby Football League has announced that the top two divisions are to run with 12-team leagues, splitting to three groups of eight, from 2015.The changes mean a return to relegation from the top flight for the first time since 2009.It had been announced in July that Super League was to be&nbsp;cut from 14 to 12 teams after this season.The restructure proposal was voted in unanimously by the 14 Super League clubs at a meeting in St Helens.BBC Sport understands that all 12 teams in both the Super League and Championship will play each other twice before the league breaks into three groups of eight.From there a team will play every other in its league of eight once, with teams in the top and bottom group retaining their points from the first part of the season and those in the middle group starting from zero.As yet no format for how play-offs will work has been announced and Magic Weekend is set to continue.Super League chairman Brian Barwick said: "I would like to thank the clubs for their contribution to what was a very fruitful and positive meeting."The clubs were unanimous in their view that Super League should become a 12-team competition from 2015 and that there should be meaningful movement between Super League and the Championship."There was a full and frank debate about the competition structures and a commitment to support the proposed format."The Super League clubs' decision will now go before the RFL's independent board of directors for ratification next week."Full details of how the new-look competition will play out are set to be confirmed later this month.This year's Super League campaign starts with Huddersfield visiting Grand Final winners Wigan on Friday, 7 February.
&nbsp;Looks like we will have to stay out of the bottom 5/6?

In sorry that's quite frankly ridiculous. If we had been relegated last year we would of been in a better position this year to be in the Championship next year.

Top 9 is going to be very tough. Featherstone, Sheffield, Halifax, Leigh and Batley are obviously going to be in. You can probably add the Crusaders to being obvious contenders to be in. That leaves 3 spots between the rest, it's going to be very tough IMO.

that's what we like to hear. haven't passed a ball yet and we a talking defeatist. we never know. we might shock a few teams this year. cant be as bad as last. come on the raiders.

It's not a case of being defeatist otw, this is yet another example of the RFL rushing something through. The new league structure was first discussed at the end of last season, after a meeting with all the Super League clubs the Wigan Chairman threw his toys out of the pram and the proposals were put on hold until after the World Cup. If this was decided straight after the World Cup before Clubs starting putting their playing squads together I wouldn't have minded so much.

Now with less than a month of the season to go the RFL have decided to bring this ridiculous new league structure in to start at the beginning of the 2015 season. Clubs have planned and budgeted for this season with playing squads assembled for 2 teams to be relegated from our league, only to be told that this could be 5 or even 6 if Toulouse are to be allowed entry into SL or SL 1.

Teams that have partnered up with other Super League Clubs are going to be at an advantage because when it gets to the business end of the season they will bolstered up in order for them to avoid the drop, because the Super League Club wouldn't want their partner club dropping into to lowest tier.

This should have been brought in at the start of the 2016 season, that way it would be a much fairer playing field and clubs cut their cloth accordingly.

I've got to agree though we haven't seen our new squad perform yet, we could be worrying about nothing when we win the league come Sept